VergeOS Hands-On Lab

Course 1: Jumping In

Course 1 Overview

This first course is intentionally simple. We’re going to take the very first steps with VergeOS — logging in, changing the GUI theme, creating a virtual machine, protecting it with a snapshot policy, and tagging it for organization. That’s it.

We won’t spend much time explaining every detail of the interface or exploring advanced options yet. Instead, this lab focuses on helping you become comfortable navigating VergeOS and completing a few essential actions. As you progress through later courses, you’ll learn the deeper capabilities of the GUI, automation tools, and system operations that build on this foundation.

By the end of this lab, you’ll have a small but functional environment that will serve as your personal data center for the rest of the VergeOS Hands-On Labs series.

You’ll learn how to:

Log in and configure the VergeOS interface
Create and assign a snapshot policy
Create organizational tags
Deploy and protect Windows and Linux virtual machines
Verify configuration and relationships between snapshots, tags, and VMs

Prerequisites

Access to a VergeOS instance
Valid login credentials
A modern web browser

Part 1 Logging In and Configuring the Interface

In the email you received with this guide, you will find a section titled "Access Your Lab Environment."

Step 1: Log In to VergeOS

1. Navigate to your VergeOS instance URL.
2. Enter your username and password.
3. Click Log In.

• You’ll arrive at the Dashboard, displayed in Light Mode by default.

Step 2: Switch to Dark Mode

1. Look at the top menu bar for the row of icons.

2. Find the sun icon and click the small disclosure arrow next to it.

3. Select the moon icon or choose “Dark.”

4. The interface will switch to dark mode.

Note: This lab uses dark mode in examples, but either theme is fine.

Step 3: Familiarize Yourself with the Interface

While we won’t spend much time on a full GUI tour, here’s what you should note for now:

• Top Menu Bar: Provides navigation across VergeOS.

• Left Context Menu: Changes dynamically depending on which component or service within VergeOS you are viewing.

✅ Checkpoint: You should see the top bar, context menu, and main dashboard clearly visible.

Part 2: Creating a Snapshot Policy

A snapshot policy defines protection schedules for your virtual machines. You’ll create one profile containing two periods: an hourly immutable snapshot and a daily quiesced snapshot.

A VergeOS snapshot is a point-in-time, space-efficient copy of a virtual machine or virtual data center that captures not only data but also its exact configuration—including compute, storage, and network state. Its primary purpose is to provide rapid recovery, instant cloning, and consistent protection across all workloads without relying on external backup software. Unlike traditional snapshots that are layered on top of a file system or depend on external storage arrays, VergeOS snapshots are built directly into the VergeFS global file system. This integration means they are instantaneous, immutable, and deduplicated globally, allowing thousands of snapshots to exist without performance impact and enabling recovery of an entire environment—not just individual VMs—in seconds.

Select System to Reveal the Snapshot Profiles Option

A VergeOS snapshot is essentially a clone that leverages VergeOS’s global deduplication to deliver near-instant creation, rapid recovery, and exceptional space efficiency. Unlike traditional snapshot technologies that rely on a hierarchical metadata tree, VergeOS snapshots are fully independent objects within the VergeFS architecture. This design eliminates the cascading performance penalties that accumulate as snapshots age or multiply. Users can create and retain an unlimited number of snapshots indefinitely without performance degradation or storage bloat. Because each snapshot is self-contained, it can also be repurposed, cloned, or mounted even if the original virtual machine or dataset no longer exists—making it both a protection mechanism and a powerful operational tool.

Select Snapshot Profiles to Reveal the Snapshot Details Dashboard

Be careful not to select Subscription Profiles by accident

The Snapshot Profiles detail will appear in the main window.

A Snapshot Profile in VergeOS defines how and when data protection occurs for a specific object—whether that object is a System, Tenant, or Virtual Machine. When assigning a Snapshot Profile to an object, that object automatically follows the defined protection schedule, ensuring consistent and repeatable data protection without manual intervention. VergeOS provides several example profiles to help you get started, but for the purposes of this lab we will create a custom profile.

Select New from the left context menu to create a new snapshot profile

In the Create Snapshot Profile window, configure these settings:

Name:

MySnapProfile

Description:

Snapshot profile for hands-on lab (optional)

Click Submit.

✅ Checkpoint: You should now see my snapshot profile listed under Snapshot Profiles.

Adding a Period to Your Snapshot Profile

Periods are the individual schedule definitions within a Snapshot Profile that determine when and how often VergeOS snapshots are taken. Each period specifies parameters such as the interval (hourly, daily, weekly), retention duration, and snapshot type—whether immutable for protection against ransomware or quiesced for application-consistent recovery. By combining multiple periods within a single Snapshot Profile, administrators can layer protection strategies to meet different recovery point and retention objectives.

Select "MySnapProfile" and Click View in the Left Context Menu

Select the Add Period button.

Add an Hourly Protection Period

1. In the Add Period form, configure:

• Period Name: hourly protection

• Immutable: Toggle ON

⚠️ Alert: Immutable snapshots cannot be manually deleted—they’re only removed automatically by the retention policy.

• Frequency: Hourly

• Snapshot Time: Set for 15 minutes from now

• Retention: 3 hours

• Minimum Snapshots Retained: 2

Click the Submit button to return to the Snapshot Profile's detail screen

Add a Daily Protection Period

Click Add Period again under the same profile.

Configure:

• Period Name: daily snapshot

• Immutable: Leave OFF

• Quiesce: Toggle ON (for application-consistent snapshots)

• Frequency: Daily

• Time: 12:00 PM

• Retention: 7 days

• Minimum Snapshots Retained: 5

Click the Submit Button to return to the overview of the MySnapProfile Snapshot Profile.

✅ Checkpoint:

Both hourly protection and daily snapshot should now appear under your snapshot profile.
Click on the "Dashboard" Menu Item to return to the main Dashboard.

Part 3: Creating Tag Categories and Tags

One of the most powerful capabilities in VergeOS 26 is the ability to tag almost any resource across the infrastructure — from VMs and storage volumes to networks, nodes, and even Virtual Data Centers (VDCs). Tagging transforms management from manual configuration into automated policy enforcement. Instead of managing each object individually, administrators can apply tags that define behavior — such as backup frequency, replication targets, security policies, or performance tiers — and VergeOS automatically enforces those rules system-wide. This approach brings consistency, scalability, and clarity to complex environments, enabling the management of thousands of workloads with the same precision as a handful. In short, tagging in VergeOS turns infrastructure management into intent-based automation.

Select System from the left context menu

This will reveal the Tags Categories display in the primary window

In VergeOS, tag categories and tags work together to bring structure and intent to infrastructure organization and automation. The distinction exists to make tagging both powerful and predictable.

Categories define the type or purpose of a tag — for example, “Production VMs,” “Lab VMs,” “Performance Tier,” or “Compliance.” Each category groups related tags, ensuring consistency and preventing conflicts.

Within each category, tags represent specific values or policies — for example, under “Environment,” tags might include Production, Development, or Test. Under “Protection Policy,” tags might include Gold, Silver, and Bronze, each tied to distinct snapshot and replication settings.

Then select Tags from the Left Context Menu

To create a new category select New from the left-hand context menu

Clicking "New" opens the New Tag Category window. We are going to create a category for VMs we will use as part of the hands-on labs.

Name Field: Lab VMs
Description: These are VMs that are a part of the hands-on lab

Click: Submit

After clicking submit, you are returned to the tag categories screen.

Next, we will create tags for the VMs in that category. As part of this lab, we will create two virtual machines—one Windows and one Linux—and assign a tag to each.

From the tag categories screen, click on the Lab VMs Category in the center pane and then select View Tags, or double-click on the Lab VMs Category.

Now you will see the tags associated with this category. At this point, there are none.